Sep 28, 2010 17:31 GMT  ·  By

In 2008, Helen Mirren was photographed in a two-piece bathing suit that could put women half her age (she was 63 at the time) to shame. Still, her beauty tricks are similar to those used by any other lady out there.

Speaking with Woman and Home magazine (via The Fab Life), the British actress says that she too has issues with her body and knows that she’s not as perfect as she comes across in pictures.

The star, a genuine natural beauty, says her biggest beauty trick is to always such her tummy in to appear thinner.

“Holding your tummy in is another trick for making you look and feel good. I don’t know why, but I do, by nature, hold my tummy in,” the Oscar-winning actress says.

And there’s more: high heels also do wonders for a woman’s posture, by making her seem slimmer than she actually is. It’s not just any kind of shoes that does the trick, though.

“Four-inch platforms give you great height and make your legs look unbelievably long,” Helen says of the so-called lucite heels.

“Now you can buy them everywhere – although, unfortunately, that means everyone else has discovered the trick too,” the actress adds with a tinge of regret.

In the same interview, Dame Mirren reveals that she too, just like most women out there, is plagued by uncertainties and has parts of her body that she would gladly keep covered up at all times.

This, of course, is not the first time that the star talks about body image and how she tries her best not to let the industry put pressure on her to change into something she’s not.

That doesn’t mean, though, that she doesn’t understand why some people feel the need to go under the knife to improve their appearance.

“I don’t think there’s outside pressure, I think it’s the pressure you put on yourself when you look at yourself in the mirror in the morning,” Mirren was saying back in January, as we also informed you.

“You go, ‘I don’t want to look at that face any more,’ and I understand that, absolutely. I think people should be allowed to do whatever they want to make themselves feel happy,” the actress explained.